This Little House
by HarajukuOtaku
Summary: It's 70 years after the Equalist rebellion. Peace has reigned in Republic city. And one by one, everyone around Korra goes gently into that good night. Inspired by Amanda Seyfried's 'Little House'. One-shot. T for sad feels.


**A.N: Wow, I haven't written in a while! Blame Camp NaNo and summer and…lack of inspiration, honestly. This is set 70 years after the season 1 finale, established Korra/Mako. I own nothing.**

-break-

_I love this place_

_But it's haunted without you_

She always figured, being the Avatar and all, she'd be the first to go.

Sure, Avatars tended to live a little longer than most people (sustained by spiritual energy, according to Aang), but the job was rough; fighting off anarchists and rebellions and dictators not only took a lot of effort, but it was inherently dangerous.

The Avatar was a target wherever they went—this wasn't a surprise to Korra, and she'd simply planned on a future that she wouldn't be in. It was, after all, the Avatar's duty to leave the world better than it was when they were born.

But she wasn't. Her mom and dad had left a while ago, softly and quietly, by way of age. Tenzin'd been gone for almost a decade, now, and Pema's health was so poor nowadays that she barely moved from her bed. Korra visited occasionally, as Jinora and the rest of the kids (that weren't really kids anymore, Korra reminded herself) rarely visited Republic City.

Even people her age—Bolin, Asami, and others she'd met after the Equalist fiasco—even they were gone.

The Avatar was in a unique position of being alone. Just like the Avatar before her.

Aang had lived the first part of his life mostly isolated, waking up years after most of his contemporaries had already died. His later years, though, saw the optimistic Airbender surrounded by people that loved him. Korra spent most of her life around people, especially after moving into Tenzin's house, but in the end, she was the only one left.

The last legacy of a dying era.

_If you live another day_

_In this happy little house_

_The fire's here to stay_

A knock on the door surprised her—no one came to her small house on the outskirts of the city much anymore. Korra stood up to greet the small man who poked his head past the doorframe, into the living room.

"You can see him, now, Avatar Korra. Everything is prepared." The man had a high voice, grating on her already thin nerves, and she pushed past him, stepping on his foot in the process. She closed the door behind her softly, no looking at the helpless figure on the bed next to the window.

"You're late."

The voice was overwhelmingly familiar and completely alien at the same time—the smirk in the voice, the teasing—that was the man she knew; the frailty, the weak croak—those things weren't a part of him.

Shouldn't be a part of him.

"Some jerk decided that the middle of the night was the best time to—" she broke off, unable to utter the word, but a hoarse chuckle was all that came from the bed.

"You can come sit down, Korra. I don't bite." He laughed weakly again as she crossed the room, still not looking at him. "You, on the other hand…"

Korra shook her head, hands clenched on her lap. "They—they said…" she finally looked up, her heart breaking as the man on the bed offered her a smile and a hand.

_Please don't make a fuss_

_It won't go away_

_The wonder of it all_

_The wonder I have made_

"Everyone has a time, Korra." He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles as she took his hand. "It's just mine right now." When she didn't reply, he sat up slightly, hand clenching for a second from the effort. "It'll be alright. I promise."

"Lay back down," she said automatically, adjusting the blanket around him. "It's bad for your health, remember?"

He did as she asked, smoothing the wrinkles in the old red scarf he still kept, then handing the scrap of fabric to her. "I don't think it'll do me any good where I'm going," he looked up at her one more time, his grip growing weaker.

"You're not leaving for good. You'll need it when I see you again, remember? We decided." The ferocity in her voice surprised her, but he just chuckled again.

_I am here to stay._

"Then keep it safe for me." She opened her mouth to protest again, but he just squeezed her hand one more time, her hand supporting his now. "Just til I get back, Korra."

The Avatar scrubbed at her eyes with clenched fists. "I don't want—I don't want you to go!" The sentiment sounded childish to her ears, but he didn't mind.

"I have to go." He attempted a smile, worn out by the effort. "I'll be back."

_I am here to stay._

She felt him slip away, felt the pulse in his wrist slow and stop, felt it as her last tie to her old life went to join all the others.

"Don't go." Her voice was just a whisper as she reached up to close his eyes, holding the scarf tightly against her chest. "Please…please don't _go_."

_Stay._

-break-

**A.N: Well…I feel very rusty at this, but hopefully this wasn't too bad…I apologize for the feels, by the way, if this caused any. The song, by the way, is "Little House" by Amanda Seyfried. **

**Didja like it? Hate it? Drop me a line in the reviews—reviews are beautiful. (Side note, I always feel weird submitting fanfics for more than one fandom under the same username…I'm like, oh, sorry to people who favorited me in a different universe…it's awkward…)**


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